Having arrived in Ecruteak City, Roy stored his bicycle in his Spatial Bracelet, and also put Pokémon except Mankey and Little Absol into their Poké Ball, before walking into this historically rich city.
Compared to the more modern Goldenrod City, Ecruteak City seems to have been frozen in time, as if one has stepped into an ancient city.
In the central square of Ecruteak City, a group of girls were dancing, performing a classical dance similar to that performed during a ritual.
The only high-rise buildings in the city are the Silph Shopping Center in the city center, the Pokémon Center of the Pokémon Pokémon League next door, and the Bell Tower on the east side.
Other facilities, such as the League Police Bureau and the radio station, are mostly single-story wooden buildings, and the Pokémon League Police here patrol the city streets on bicycles.
Looking at the buildings, most of which are over a hundred years old.
Roy thought to himself that it was only because Lugia hadn't returned that these buildings collapsed; otherwise, a strong gust of wind could have easily brought them down.
However, that wasn't his concern; rescuing the two missing groups of Primeape was the priority.
Just as Roy was preparing to head to the Ecruteak City and follow the address provided by the woman to the Wazik Family's residence on the outskirts of the city.
An Uproar arose from a building that resembled a black, ancient tower.
Upon closer inspection, Roy realized that this was not a black ancient tower at all, but rather a half-built ancient tower that had been charred black after being burned.
"Roy, this is where the great god Lugia once lived."
Marshadow was in the shadows, suddenly spoke.
Roy belatedly realized that he had arrived in the northwest corner of Ecruteak City.
The black, charred, and half-collapsed ancient tower before us is the Tin Tower, which was destroyed by a bolt of lightning hundreds of years ago.
The tower was engulfed in flames by lightning, which ignited the entire tower, hence its name, the Burned Tower.
After Lugia left the Burned Tower, his descendants rebuilt a Tin Tower in the northeast corner of the city. Although the new Tin Tower was completed, Lugia never returned.
But why is the Ghost type aura so strong here?
Roy suddenly remembered that Agatha had mentioned that this place was also one of the evil entrances to the Spirit World, but it didn't open as frequently as the Spirit World entrance in Lavender Town.
Furthermore, he was certain that there were Ghost type Pokémon in the tower, because Gastly and Haunter were also depicted as living there in the anime.
Below the burning tower, a group of people were surrounding a boy.
Behind this group were Construction Crew dismantling the building and a demolition crane carrying a large iron ball, preparing to dismantle the black, Burned Tower in front of them.
The Uproar was coming from here.
Roy looked at the boy who was surrounded in front of the ancient tower. He saw that the boy had blond hair and wore a purple headband.
Roy, who hadn't intended to meddle, stopped in his tracks. He recognized the boy in front of the Burned Tower; it was Morty, the Gym Leader of Ecruteak City.
Moreover, the opponent's Gym is Ghost type Gym, and as a fellow Ghost type Pokémon Trainer, Roy had a fairly good impression of Morty.
Agatha had mentioned the other person to her before, and now she had met him.
The group standing opposite Morty was led by a fat man with a large belly, who also wore a Ho-Oh Badge on his chest.
It's that family again?
Roy, still confused about what was happening, didn't immediately step forward to stop them. Instead, he pretended to be a bystander, approaching a middle-aged man who was also watching the commotion, and asked:
"Uncle, what's going on up ahead?"
The middle-aged man who was watching the commotion was startled by the sudden question in his ear. He was about to turn around and complain when he saw a muscular chest. Looking up, he saw Roy smiling.
I compared my physique with Roy's.
Hmm... slightly inferior.
We can't afford to mess with them.
The middle-aged man composed himself and said to Roy:
"Young man, you can tell you're not from around here, can you?"
"Sir, you have a good eye. I'm here in Ecruteak City on a trip."
Travel?
Upon hearing that Roy was a tourist, the middle-aged man's gossip-loving instincts instantly kicked in. Pointing at the Morty, he whispered to Roy:
"Look at that boy I'm pointing to. He's a famous Pokémon Trainer around here, but he's famous not because of his strength, but because he's Ghost-type Trainers!!!"
After saying the words "Ghost-type Trainers," the middle-aged man made a menacing gesture, trying to scare Roy.
Roy:...
Seeing that Roy wasn't intimidated at all, the uncle coughed awkwardly twice, then pointed to the group of people dressed in black facing the boy and said:
"The group of people opposite him are apprentices from the Enju City Dojo, and also members of the Vazquez family. They plan to demolish that charred tower in front of them and build a new trading center on that land."
"But I heard that's where Lugia used to live, right? Even if Lugia isn't coming back now, there's no need to just demolish it, is there?"
Upon hearing Roy's question, the middle-aged man looked helpless.
"Who can argue with that? The current Ecruteak City... sigh..."
After the middle-aged man's explanation, Roy understood that not all citizens of Ecruteak City wanted to preserve ancient traditions; they also wanted to keep up with the times and embrace the latest modern Holographic Communication technologies.
But the Wazik Family is still basking in the Ecruteak City and is unwilling to engage with the outside world. Even the Silph Shopping Center now restricts the sale of modern technology products.
Throughout the city, people still learned about what was happening outside through broadcasts.
The Gym Leader of Ecruteak City is the head of the Wazik Family. They demolished the tower in preparation for building a brand new trading center there, completely kicking the Silph Co. out of the game.
The middle-aged man, in a fit of anger, also claimed that they were the ones who had just installed a modern smart TV in his house, saying it was bad for the city's appearance!
Does the stuff he installed in his house detract from the city's appearance?
Roy ignored the middle-aged man's complaints and turned to look at Morty, who was standing in front of everyone. Pine Leaf had a resolute expression on his face, and he spread his arms, resolutely blocking the Burned Tower.
Morty looked at the people in front of him. He absolutely could not let these people demolish the ancient tower. Ever since the ancient tower Bolt Strike, and Lugia had left the tower, it had been abandoned.
However, the strong Ghost type aura emanating from the Burned Tower has attracted many Ghost type Pokémon, and it has now become a habitat for Ghost type Pokémon.
If he allowed these people to demolish the tower, the Ghost type Pokémon inside would be displaced, so he absolutely could not let them tear down the Burned Tower.
An old man stepped out from the crowd and advised Morty:
"Don't insist anymore, Morty, this tower cannot be saved."
Morty remained unmoved, standing before the charred, half- Burned Tower.
"Old man, why are you wasting your breath talking to him? And... is this any of your business? Get back in the standing room!"
Not only will we destroy this tower, Pokémon we won't let the Ghost type Pokémon inside escape either.
Because of the frequent incidents of Ghost type Pokémon attacking people in Ecruteak City recently, the Gym Leader instructed us to exterminate them all, leaving none alive.
Upon hearing the fat man's words, Morty quickly spoke up in defense:
"Ghost type Pokémon aren't what you think. They don't hurt people randomly. The ones causing chaos at Silph Co. Center weren't Ghost type Pokémon; it was someone else."
"You say it's someone else, then tell me who it is and provide evidence!"
"I... I haven't found any evidence yet, but it definitely wasn't the Ghost type Pokémon in the tower that did it!"
Morty clenched his fist tightly, making a creaking sound, showing how much force he was using.
Roy seemed to understand why the Little Fatty on the S.S. Anne was so Power Trip and domineering. Like father, like son; the entire Wazik Family was probably no better.
This is only because the Wazik Family has fallen from grace. If they hadn't fallen, Roy estimates that Ecruteak City would have reverted to a slave society by now.
I really don't know what Ho-Oh saw in this family back then.
"I'm going to count to five now, and you leave now. I don't care about you anymore. 5..."
"4,3,2,1."
The fat man hadn't even finished counting the Morty when the countdown was already over.
"Fine, you've got guts! Come on, loosen up our Ghost type kid's bones and let him know who the real master of Ecruteak City is."